What Incense Should You Burn for Magical Firebowl Divination?

There are many different incense and plant resins that can be burned for divination, as well as other magical procedures, and each has its own characteristics and classification according to the 4 elements. When it comes to selecting incense or plant resins for divination, don't assume that all vendors have classified the incense they sell accurately by element characteristics and correspondences. Also, there are incense that change drastically once burned in a Firebowl, so that is another consideration. The best way to make sure you are using an incense of the element that you want for a particular divination is to test it out for yourself by burning a small amount in your firebowl as you smell the scent and watch the smoke. The following guidelines in the list below will then help you classify the elemental makeup.

Firebowl Incense Elemental Mixes

1. General Purpose: will have a good mix of 4 elements, usually higher in Air and Fire

• Smoke – moderate amount of smoke, tends to rise and spread moderately rapid and leaves a slight bluish haze.
• Scent – Some "edge" or "stickiness" in the scent
• Examples – Sage, pinion, juniper, Dragon's Blood, frankincense

2. Air: is often pale colored with white or transparent material. Can be used to remember dreams, is good for studying

• Smoke – rises quickly and dissipates quickly. Has a very light smoke that leaves air fairly clear afterwards
• Scent – delicate, fast rising scent or no odor
• Examples – sandalwood, sage, mint, sweet grass

3. Fire: often is red, orange, or yellow, good to liven up energy

• Smoke – smoke rises quickly and spreads quickly and is red or yellow. Amount of smoke is light or moderate and leaves a slight bluish haze
• Scent – has a sharp scent that "bites" the nasal passages and sinuses
• Examples – pine, juniper, frankincense

4. Water: often is pink, blue, dark red or brown and often feels damp. Good for meditation.

• Smoke – thick smoke that rises and spreads slowly and dissipates slowly
• Scent – often has a fruit or flower scent or heavy, sweet, wet, thick and cloying scent that can last for days
• Examples – gardenia, lotus blossom, strawberry

5. Earth: often brown or green. Good for stabilizing an area

• Smoke – tends not to rise but rather to "boil" out and settle to the floor spreading slowly
• Scent – heavy, not sweet, not wet "earthy" scent that can last for days. Also a dry scent with a slight "edge" to the nasal passages and sinuses
• Examples – musk, mosses (be sure to dry before burning), myrrh, dark/heavy pines

For deeper study about divination and characterizing incense and plant resins and their various magical uses, see our How to Do Voodoo ebook or the online Basic Magic class section 1.


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Magic 2012: Clock's a-ticking ... Have You Figured Out Your Lesson Yet

Magic 2012 is quickly drawing to an end. As the much prophesied date of December 21, 2012 approaches and we transition into a new era, let's look back at what magic 2012 has been about and what you can still do before the December date arrives.

Magic 2012: Large Life Events
For many people, the year of magic 2012 has been filled with chaotic events and/or the year has seemed to move at a fast speed. We have seen more people dealing with life events of a larger scale this year. Whether it has been in financial, relationship, health, or loss issues, there has been an increased intensity in these life events. The lessons associated with these issues have caused people to have to look beyond the events themselves and turn further inward to gain understanding of the important lessons they have yet to learn. The good news is that magic 2012 has been a time of manifesting quicker and making changes quicker. More people have opened themselves to guidance and help from higher powers and beings, have learned to trust their inner voice and received asked for signs from totems and spirit forces. The lessons may not all have been pleasant, but they have been more profound this year.

Magic 2012: Need Help Getting Your Lesson?
There have also been people for whom this year held significance, but they did not face the craziness and did not have those big life lessons to learn. That could mean there really isn't one for them at this time, but it could be they just haven't been tuned in enough to get it. There is still time. If you haven't figured out your big life lesson for this year, ask. You can ask the 4 winds, angels, your totems, guardians or any number of spiritual beings to send you signs if there is a big lesson for you this year. Spend some extra time meditating and doing self observation. Dig deeper than you have before. If there is something that you have been uncomfortable about or an issue that you haven't really wanted to face, this is the year more than any other that can bring you resolution, peace and a deeper understanding.

This has been a year that many of the tried and true techniques used in the past haven't been working for people the same way. They have had to get more creative, make big changes and seek out alternatives. If you've never taken on doing a daily ritual, this may be the time to do that. Doing a daily ritual insures that we set aside some time everyday to connect with the higher, have some quiet time and create some sacred space for ourselves. This can be meditating, do yoga, reading from an inspirational book or any number of uplifting spiritual endeavors. The key is to do the exercise everyday, thus making it a daily ritual. This opens a doorway through which higher powers and beings can enter your life. If you do a daily ritual and haven't received insight into any deeper life lessons, you may need to change to a different ritual. If you have been doing the same ritual for a period of time, you may be going through your ritual in a mechanical way at this point, thus closing the doorway. Changing to a fresh ritual may engage your centers and allow you to re-open the door.

Remember that any intentional act is an act of magic and in this year of magic 2012 those intentional acts can open you to new possibilities. This year has been best and fastest time to manifest anything, so if you haven't gotten to it yet, it's time to get moving, the clock's a ticking!

Need help figuring out how to get your lesson before the year ends? Post your situation on our Facebook page. Our school staff and a large magical community can help you get ideas of what direction to go.


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What is a Voodoo Doll in Magical Terms?

Voodoo and voodoo dolls in particular have been portrayed in movies, books and television for a long time as a dark and mysterious type of magic. In actuality, Voodoo is a West African religion also known as Vodun, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu and Voudou. The voodoo doll is just one part of the practice, but seems to be the one most people are familiar with. They can be a very useful tool for a wide spectrum of magical procedures.

What Is A Voodoo Doll Used For
The voodoo doll has the same use as what many magical practitioners refer to as a simulacrum. A simulacrum is an object that is a likeness of something. Simulacra can also include photographs, pictures, figurines, symbols, lists, and Tarot cards. They are objects used to capture the essence of that which you seek to affect. It is best not to use simulacra made of plastic or rubber as they do not "key" well. If your object is made of wood, make sure it is a dense wood or there may be problems "keying" it as well.

Using simulacra allows you to do magical procedures on people and things you are not in direct physical contact with. In fact the person you affect can be all the way on the other side of the world, or you can affect a global situation. By making a psychic connection, between the simulacrum or voodoo doll and the person or situation, you can perform the magical procedure on the doll or simulacrum and the person or thing it is connected to will get the benefits. By the Universal Law of Similarity, the more likeness between a simulacrum and that which it is keyed to, the greater the psychic connection. So the more your simulacrum looks like the person or the situation you want to affect the greater they will be affected.

How To Key A Voodoo Doll
As an example, take the case of using a voodoo doll to do a long distance healing with someone hundreds of miles away from you. Making the psychic connection or "keying" is done by holding the voodoo doll in your dominant or "output' hand and thinking of everything you know about the person. Continue this until it feels charged, warm, heavy or tingly or some describe it as a feeling that the doll is "alive" or they felt it wiggle. The voodoo doll is then keyed to that person. At this point you must be very careful with the voodoo doll. Anything you do to it will affect the person it is keyed to. So you don't want to go off for the weekend and leave it lying around for the cat to bounce around the room causing injury to the person. You need to do your magical procedure whether it be a healing technique, putting up an omnil for protection or whatever and then unkey the doll or simulacrum.

How To Unkey A Voodoo Doll
To "unkey" a simulacrum, you cut the psychic connection lines with a keyed athame (fire element tool) and throw a blast of electric blue energy at it from your athame. Some Wiccan practitioners also will bury the simulacrum in the earth for a moon cycle to complete the "unkeying" process.

Be sure that any magical operation you are attempting using a voodoo doll or simulacrum has been thought through thoroughly as always and that you are following the Rules of the Road (Universal Laws governing magical practice) to avoid any karmic backlash. Voodoo dolls and other types of simulacra can be extremely useful tools for a wide variety of magical healing, protection, and communication if used appropriately. They help expand the range of using your magical techniques to help others and are a great tool to add to your magical toolbox.

To learn more about how to do voodoo magic, check out our How To Do Voodoo ebook in the Esoteric School Store.


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Do You Know the Top 5 Reasons People Fail at Real Magic?

We sometimes hear from people that their real magic procedures didn't work and they want to know what went wrong and how to manifest the things they want. They often begin to doubt their magical powers. When real magic seems to have failed, it often turns out to be a matter of we, ourselves getting in the way of manifesting everything we want.

Here are the top 5 reasons we've found that people fail at real magic or that interfere with how to manifest what one wants.

1. We Don't Believe We Can Be, Do, and Have Everything We Want
We are taught that we must make sacrifices to get what we want or that to get one thing we have to give up something else. The Universe however is limitless. We can ask for and manifest everything we want and there still be enough left for everyone else.

2. Negativity is Popular
By the Law of Attraction we attract to our lives that which we focus on. Negativity being as popular and prevalent as it is in our society causes our positive energies to become skewed and thus interferes with our positive manifestations. All the negativity around us serves to keep us distracted from the positive things we desire. No one sits around and dreams of all the negative things they want to have happen in their lives, but most of our attention throughout the day gets focused in negative directions.

3. We are Hypnotized by Daily Life
We tend to get so caught up in daily life matters and act mechanically that we forget to consciously create. Work, family responsibilities, to do lists and all the daily living concerns occupy our minds and don't allow us to spend time or thought manifesting or communicating with higher powers that can help with our manifestations.

4. We are Afraid of Failure
We don't grow up being taught how to attract what we want and we don't get a lot of practice at it. We are taught to abhor failure however so we give up too soon attributing it to failure or don't even bother trying because of the fear of failing. 

5. We Think we Have to "Make it Happen"
We tend to make creating much more difficult than it needs to be. We think we have to "do" it and take on the total responsibility for it. We have been taught that to get ahead or get what we desire takes hard work, nose to the grindstone. Sometimes that can be true, but usually we create with the Universe's help and it doesn't have to be hard at all.

If you find yourself having difficulty with your manifestations, take a look at these 5 reasons people fail at real magic and see if any of them apply to you. Once you have that awareness, you can be on the road to change and finding how to manifest everything you want in your life. You can read more and learn how to expand your magical successes in our Daily Rituals ebook. To get a special discount on the ebook, just go to our Facebook page, give us a like and leave a comment telling why you want to learn more about how daily rituals can help with manifesting what you want in life. Then send us your email address and we'll email you back a code to enter at checkout for a discount. Learning how to manifest what you want and get a special savings, you can't beat that!


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Magic 2012 – How to Look Beyond the Events

As we approach the much prophesied date of December 21, 2012 we are seeing more and more people dealing with large life events. Whether they are dealing with financial crises, major health issues, relationship breakdowns, loss of home and property, job loss, or any number of other manifestations of 2012, people are often filled with questions. They ask questions like:

Why me?
Why is life so unfair?
What do I do now?
Where do I go when I feel like I have no where to turn?

Many times these life events appear to be "bad news" and people tend to focus on the events themselves. People also tend to get stuck in the "Why me?" mode. The key to successfully navigating the events that Magic 2012 tends to throw in our lives is to look beyond the events themselves. Instead of asking questions like, "Why me?" Magic 2012 asks us to dig deeper. We need to be asking questions like, "What is the real message behind this event? What am I meant to learn from this event? In what way is this event asking me to change?"

While these life events may appear to be bad news, don't worry! The good news about Magic 2012 is that it is easier to change yourself and your life in 2012 than it will be in the future or has been in the past. If you need help getting answers or guidance try doing a question circle and asking the Universe for help.

How to Do a Magical Question Circle
Here's what you'll need: a sun yellow candle on a plate or in glass, paper or wooden matches, pen, and paper. You may also need a compass to help you figure out the cardinal directions of east, south, west, and north. Once you've gathered your materials and have located the cardinal directions, light your yellow candle with your matches. Then, follow the steps below.

1) Bring your candle, pen, and paper to the east quarter of your circle. Sit facing the outside of the circle (facing east). Ask the Winds of Knowledge what you need to know about your situation, and get quiet inside as you wait for the answer. Be prepared to write down everything that comes to you. Don't think about it, just write. Keep writing until you no longer receive information. Thank the Winds of Knowledge and move to the next step.

2) Move to the south, and sit facing south. Ask the Winds of Power to show you what actions you need to take for your situation. Again, write any answers that come to you. Thank the Winds of Power.

3) Move to the next quarter, in the west, and sit facing west. Ask the Winds of Feeling what emotional shifts you need to make regarding your situation. In addition, you may want to ask for spiritual enlightenment. Thank the Winds of Feeling, and then move to the next quarter.

4) Move to the north, and sit facing north. Ask the Winds of Strength how you can build a foundation for the future you want. Ask for practical guidance about your situation. Thank the Winds of Strength.

5) Finally, move back to the center of your circle and sit facing east. Read through the answers that have come to you from each direction. Slowly digest the information. You may want to repeat the question circle several times, at different times, until you get clarity on your situation or lessons.

The year 2012 is an interval year, which means that changes not possible before are now very possible. Ask the right questions and you'll get some amazing answers.


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